Specialist employment law
In-house Irish employment law capability, with cost-effective WRC and Labour Court representation when a claim lands.
For the decisions that carry weight
HR consultancy that pairs law with commercial sense
PurpleTree is an Irish HR consultancy that pairs specialist employment law with senior HR capability. We advise founders, leadership teams and boards on the people decisions that carry real legal and commercial weight, from restructuring and reward to WRC representation, and we back it with HR software and a fixed, transparent fee.
Real expertise on the line, not a script.
Specialist Law, Senior HR Judgement
An HR consultancy should give you more than templates and a helpline. PurpleTree combines specialist employment law with senior HR transformation capability, working at board and C-suite level on the decisions that matter most. For the day-to-day function our outsourced HR service carries the everyday, and this strategic arm steps in when the stakes, the risk or the change involved are larger.
Commercial judgement
Advice grounded in your business reality, so people decisions support the strategy rather than sit apart from it.
HR transformation
Evidence-based change, restructuring and reward design with the implementation expertise to see it through.
Board-ready advice
Professional deliverables your senior team and board can act on with confidence.
Support that arrives when the stakes rise.
When Irish Businesses Engage an HR Consultancy
Most Irish employers do not set out to retain an HR consultancy. They reach for one when people issues outgrow whoever has been handling them informally. That might be an office manager carrying HR alongside three other jobs, a founder making employment decisions without a defensible process behind them, or a fast-growing firm where contracts, policies and compliance have quietly fallen behind the headcount.
A restructure, a senior exit, a WRC claim or the arrival of the EU pay transparency rules each tends to be the moment the cost of getting it wrong becomes real.
We come in at that point with both the legal grounding and the commercial read on what to actually do. For a wider view of where the pressure builds, read our overview of the biggest HR challenges facing Irish SMEs and our guide to pay transparency mistakes.
- Outgrowing informal HRPeople processes are being run off the side of someone's desk and starting to slip.
- A high-stakes decisionA restructure, a senior exit or a board-level change needs a defensible, documented process.
- Live legal exposureA WRC claim, a grievance or a contentious dismissal is on the table and the cost of getting it wrong is real.
- New reward obligationsPay transparency and gender pay gap rules mean your pay structure now has to stand up to scrutiny.
Clear thinking for your biggest calls.
C-Suite Strategic Advisory
Gain clarity on your organisation's transformation priorities with a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation of your people function, legal compliance, and strategic HR capabilities. We conduct executive stakeholder interviews, documentation audits, and benchmarking analysis to deliver board-level insights. You receive a comprehensive assessment report with a risk matrix, transformation roadmap, and an action plan, giving leadership the clarity needed to drive meaningful change. This is ideal for organisations identifying transformation priorities, assessing risk exposure, or preparing the people function for growth. It pairs naturally with the day-to-day cover in our outsourced HR service.
- Executive stakeholder interviews and documentation audit
- People-function, compliance and capability diagnostic
- Risk matrix and prioritised transformation roadmap
- Board-level assessment report and action plan
Someone in your corner when it counts.
Representation & Legal Support
When workplace disputes reach the Workplace Relations Commission or Labour Court, our specialist team provides expert representation at a fraction of the cost of a traditional legal firm. We act for employers across the full span of employment law: unfair dismissal claims, discrimination cases, payment of wages disputes, working time complaints, and appeals to the Labour Court.
Our direct advocacy model typically delivers significant cost savings while maintaining the highest standards of representation. The service covers case assessment and risk analysis, legal strategy, written submissions, full advocacy at all hearings, and settlement negotiation where it is in your interest. For the detail of how a claim runs from notification to decision, see our dedicated WRC representation service.
- Case assessment and honest risk analysis
- Legal strategy and written WRC submissions
- Full advocacy at WRC and Labour Court hearings
- Settlement negotiation where it is in your interest
Change without the legal risk.
Redundancy, Restructuring & TUPE
Manage workforce change with strategic and legal expertise that minimises risk while protecting your employer brand. We provide end-to-end support combining business case development, legal compliance, and employee support, including alternative options analysis, objective selection criteria, comprehensive documentation, and change-management expertise. The result is a legally compliant process, a fair and defensible selection, full manager support, and sensitive employee communications.
For business transfers or service provision changes we manage the full TUPE transfer including applicability assessment, information and consultation, and post-transfer integration. This is particularly valuable for Irish manufacturers and other sectors undergoing transformation. Our guides to redundancy and the genuine redundancy test set out where employers most often slip.
- Business case and alternative options analysis
- Objective, defensible selection criteria
- Manager support and sensitive employee communications
- Full TUPE transfer management where a business changes hands
Pay decisions you can defend in the boardroom.
Reward Strategy That Stands Up to Scrutiny
Reward has become a board issue. The EU Pay Transparency Directive is being written into Irish law, gender pay gap reporting already applies to larger employers, and equal pay claims at the WRC can carry significant awards. Our pay and reward work gives you a structure that is fair, competitive and defensible: salary benchmarking and market rate reports show where you sit against the market, while job evaluation and grading and gender pay gap reporting get you ready for the transparency rules.
Salary benchmarking
See exactly where your pay sits against the Irish market for each role.
Market rate reports
Role-by-role market data to support hiring, retention and pay reviews.
Job evaluation and grading
A consistent, defensible grading structure that maps roles to pay bands.
Gender pay gap reporting
Accurate reporting and a narrative that stands up to scrutiny.
Pay transparency readiness
Get your pay structure ready for the EU directive before it applies to you.
Pay and reward design
Reward strategy that supports recruitment, retention and your budget.
Your GDPR duties handled by someone else.
Data Protection Officer (DPO) Services
Meet your GDPR obligations with strategic data protection oversight and regulatory liaison through our outsourced DPO service. Our qualified Data Protection Officer provides compliance oversight, strategic advisory to your board, liaison with the Data Protection Commission, and training and awareness programmes.
The service includes quarterly compliance reporting, data breach management, Data Protection Impact Assessments, Records of Processing Activities, and all regulatory correspondence. It is well suited to public bodies, organisations conducting large-scale monitoring or processing, and businesses that need strategic GDPR oversight rather than ad hoc fixes. It sits alongside the wider GDPR compliance support we provide to Irish employers.
- Outsourced Data Protection Officer and board advisory
- Liaison with the Data Protection Commission
- DPIAs, Records of Processing and breach management
- Quarterly compliance reporting and staff training
No open-ended bills.
How We Work With You, and What It Costs
Transparency on cost is the point of bringing in a consultancy, so we are clear about how engagements are priced. Ongoing advisory runs through our HR Partnership retainer, a fixed monthly fee scoped to your headcount and the cover you want, with a dedicated consultant who knows your business.
Defined pieces of work, such as a strategic diagnostic, a restructure, a WRC hearing or a salary benchmarking exercise, are scoped and quoted in writing before any work begins, so the cost is agreed in advance rather than billed open-ended after the fact.
If you need contracts and a handbook in place quickly, the HR Fundamentals package gives you both, and the HR:Duo software starts from €8 per employee per month for time and attendance and from €14 per employee per month for the full HRIS. Compare the levels on our pricing page, and see the platform detail on our HR software service.
- HR Partnership retainer with a dedicated consultant, scoped to your business
- Projects scoped and quoted in writing before any work begins
- HR Fundamentals package for contracts and a full employee handbook
- HR:Duo software from €8 per employee per month, full HRIS from €14
- Fixed, transparent pricing agreed in advance
Advice rooted here, never an imported template.
Irish Employment Law Expertise, Based in Longford
PurpleTree is an Irish HR consultancy based in Longford, advising employers across the country. Our team brings over 60 years of combined Irish employment law experience, which means the advice you receive is grounded in Irish law and current WRC and Labour Court practice rather than adapted from a UK playbook.
We are not a franchise model and not a one-size template approach. When you call us, you speak to the consultant who already knows your business instead of being passed between departments.
We advise on what your business specifically needs and tell you clearly where the legal position is, including where the risk sits. You can see how the strategic work joins up with day-to-day cover in our outsourced HR service and with wider health and safety obligations.
- 60+ years of combined Irish employment law experience across the team
- Advice grounded in Irish law and current WRC and Labour Court practice
- A named consultant who knows your business, not a rotating help desk
- Transparent pricing agreed before any work starts
Strategy meets the law
Bring legal expertise and commercial thinking to your toughest people decisions. Tell us your headcount, sector and what you are currently weighing up, and we will scope the right level of support. See our HR consultancy pricing, then talk it through with our team.
Free 5-minute HR Health Check
See where your business stands before the WRC does
Answer 40 straightforward questions on contracts, working time, pay, leave and policies, and get a clear read on where your compliance gaps sit and what to fix first.
Common questions from employers
An HR consultancy gives you specialist people and employment-law capability without the cost of building it in-house. For most Irish SMEs that means employment-law advice, compliant contracts and policies, support through disciplinaries, grievances and redundancies, WRC and Labour Court representation when a claim arrives, pay and reward work, and HR software to run the day-to-day. PurpleTree covers the full range from one Longford-based team, so the advice is joined up rather than split across a solicitor, a payroll bureau and a software vendor.
It depends on the level of support you need. Ongoing advisory through our HR Partnership is a fixed monthly retainer scoped to your headcount and the cover you want, so you know the cost before the month starts. Defined projects such as a restructure, a WRC hearing or a salary benchmarking exercise are scoped and quoted in writing before any work begins. The HR:Duo software starts from €8 per employee per month for time and attendance and from €14 per employee per month for the full HRIS. See how we price HR support and ask us for a tailored quote.
Usually when people issues start to outgrow the person currently handling them. That might be an office manager doing HR alongside three other jobs, a founder making employment decisions without a defensible process behind them, or a business growing fast enough that contracts, policies and compliance are slipping. A restructure, a difficult dismissal, a WRC claim, or the new pay transparency rules are all common triggers. Bringing in a consultancy early is almost always cheaper than fixing a problem after a claim has been filed. Our overview of the biggest HR challenges facing Irish SMEs covers the common pressure points.
You do not have to use a solicitor. Employers are routinely represented at the Workplace Relations Commission by HR and employment-law specialists. PurpleTree prepares the written submission, manages the evidence, and presents your defence at the adjudication hearing and any Labour Court appeal, all on Irish employment law. See our WRC representation service for how that works.
They overlap. Outsourced HR is the retained, day-to-day relationship that replaces an in-house HR function on a fixed monthly fee. HR consultancy is the broader term, and it also covers the senior, strategic and project work that sits above the day-to-day: board-level advisory, restructuring, reward strategy, and specialist legal representation. Many clients take both, with the retainer covering the everyday and projects scoped on top. See our outsourced HR service for the retained model.
Yes. The EU Pay Transparency Directive is being transposed into Irish law and will require employers to report and explain pay differences, with gender pay gap reporting already in force for larger employers. We help you get ahead of it through job evaluation, grading, salary benchmarking and gender pay gap reporting, so your pay structure is defensible before the obligation bites.
Yes. We provide the HR:Duo platform for leave, records, digital contracts and compliance, configured to your business. Time and attendance starts from €8 per employee per month and the full HRIS from €14 per employee per month. You can take the software on its own or bundle it with ongoing HR support. See our HR software service.
We are an Irish HR consultancy based in Longford, serving employers across the country. The advice you receive is grounded in Irish employment law and current WRC and Labour Court practice rather than adapted from a UK playbook. When you call, you speak to the consultant who knows your business instead of a rotating help desk.